


On Foot I had to Cross the Solar System

by Cabach



Category: Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Mini Crewmates, Nonbinary Character, Other, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:39:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26870776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cabach/pseuds/Cabach
Summary: White has had a long, successful career as an Imposter. Nothing has been able to change that and nothingwillbe able to change that.... until one of their would-be targets brings her children onboard.
Relationships: Cyan/White (Among Us), Mini Crewmate & Cyan (Among Us), Mini Crewmate & White (Among Us), Purple/White (Among Us), imposter/crewmate - Relationship
Comments: 43
Kudos: 287





	1. White POV

**Author's Note:**

> Title and occasional quote by Edith Sodergran, absolute legend
> 
> Originally titled "When in Space..."

There were three of them on this trip—Imposters—more than usual. As one of the three, White wasn’t sure how they felt about the size of their team yet. 

They glanced over at Purple and then at Red, the other two imposters. White had worked with Purple over several ships and they were glad for the familiarity that her disarmingly cute balloon hat brought. Red on the other hand, was new, obviously so. He didn't even know enough to avoid the other imposters. Hanging around other people during the first leg of the trip was suspicious. Many times, even Purple and White kept separate, even though they had traveled together before.

As a crewmate, you could never be sure if someone you had traveled with before had been replaced by an imposter in the short time you were apart. It was the job of a good imposter to keep up to speed on the various trends of what made someone suspicious or not.

“Hiiiiii, White,” Red sang out, leaning toward them in a playful manner.

"We can't be seen together," White reminded him quietly in a terse voice, not turning from their data pad where they were confirming the amount of ration supplies. The persona they had chosen to develop for the crewmates was one of a diligent, devoted crewmate with a sharp eye and attention to detail. All of those were true about White anyways—except for the "crewmate" part—but it was important to set up their identity early on.

Nothing could be seen through Red's visor, but White could tell that he was pouting at the lack of attention. 

"That's what Purple said, too," he complained, crossing his arms. At least he was proficient in human body language.

"We've done this before." And wasn't _that_ an understatement. "We know how it works. If Purple tells you to do something, trust her. Talk to one of the other crewmates, connect with them."

Trust.

It was never easy for an imposter to trust anyone, even one of their own. But White and Purple were the experienced ones this go-around. This was likely Red's first flight.

Red sulked. "Fine. I'm not stupid, I know how to do this."

White doubted both of those statements.

Red stalked off, then changed his demeanor to chat up Blue.

White turned to inspect the rest of the crew, sizing them up and trying to discern who would be the easiest to pick off. With the addition of Red, another imposter, their and Purple's usual game plan might have to be altered.

This early in the trip, there was little that White could truly discern, but they took note of who was already jumpy (Yellow, Pink, and Black), who was easily angered (Blue), who looked blissfully unaware (Brown), and who looked solemn (Orange). 

The jumpy ones were the ones who had already experienced an imposter. Somehow, they had managed to survive the encounter—either by skill or, White thought it most likely, luck—and would have residual paranoia that would be easy to warp and turn against each other. 

The crewmates who were blissfully unaware and overly friendly would be easy to frame. Even though they never meant it to be, their constant friendliness would raise red flags from the previous group. It would make them easy picking, considering they were not experienced enough to be suspicious of anyone. Similarly, the ones who were angered easily would be easy to sus because they got on the other crewmates' nerves/

Solemn ones, however, were oddly enough the most dangerous ones. They wouldn't be the most alert but would be the most likely to pay attention to detail instead of get caught up in the heat of paranoia.

Wait. There was supposed to be ten people on this ship. (What it was with humans and their fondness for even numbers? White would never be able to tell). Counting the other imposters, that made nine. 

Where was the last crewmate?

White heard a laugh behind them.

There was the lower part of a cyan suit sticking out from behind one of the boxes of storage, the suit’s tenant lying on its front, their legs bent at the knee and crossed at the ankles and swinging above them.

The last crewmate? They seemed… smaller than White was accustomed to. 

Since Cyan was the last one White had seen, they made their way over to talk to them. A chance to build a little bit of camaraderie, as fake as it would be on White's part. 

As White approached, they heard a woman's voice.

"Green, I'm sure it'll be fine."

Another voice, slightly distorted in the way that White recognized as a video call, answered, "Yeah, you're right. It's just a resupply and drop. We've done it a hundred times now, we'll be okay."

"You're getting staticky," she said. "I'll let you go. See you at the station in three months! Love you!"

There was a cacophony of voices all saying goodbye that momentarily confused White. They came around the boxes in time to see the call come to an end. Instead of the single crewmate they had been expecting, White was greeted by the sight of not one, not two, but _three_ cyan clad bodies. Two small ones and one normal sized. The legs that White had assumed belonged to the crewmate actually belonged to one of the smaller beings. The largest, and most likely the actual crewmate, was sitting with her back against the storage container, with a smaller crewmate on either side.

Masking their surprise, White greeted them with the intention of sorting her into one of the three groups. "Last call to the spouse?"

Cyan looked up at them evenly, not jumping as White had expected. To their surprise, she laughed into her glove. Even though she was wearing a helmet, and the motion was useless, it was very indicative of her character. White temporarily put her in the "blissfully unaware" category.

"Nah. Green's just an old friend. He wasn't able to join us in time."

"Is this your first flight?" White asked cordially, under the pretense of polite conversation. They had lost count of how many times they had asked these questions.

"No, we've been on loads of flights!" the smallest one interjected. "And last time, we even helped catch an imposter!"

"Is that so?" White put in the effort to sound impressed. "It sounds like we're in good hands this trip if there happens to be another imposter on board."

The little one (What were human young called? It wasn't hatchling… children!) puffed out his chest. "Yeah, I won't let any imposters hurt us!"

"I know it's unnecessary, but I'm White," they introduced themself, knowing better than to offer their hand to shake. "Are these your children?"

"Cyan," she answered, also unnecessarily. "Yes. My son, Indigo, and my daughter, Azule." 

The third person in their little group wore the same color suit as the other members of her family. She waved shyly but didn't speak. White waved back.

"I wasn't aware MIRA allowed children on their ships," they said. "Its been awhile since I've seen a young one. Are you sure they’ll be safe?"

What they didn't ask was why anyone would bring their children, their young, the continuation of their species, on a knowingly dangerous flight.

"I'm stationed on Polus," Cyan offered as an answer. "We don't have anyone else back on Earth, so they just come with me and help me finish my tasks. Zula is becoming quite the apprentice."

“Daaaad,” her daughter whinged, drawing out the vowel and covering her visor in embarrassment. It was the first time she had spoken.

White knew that much more prying would make them seem suspicious, so they decided to end with, "Well, I'm glad to have you all onboard."

"Give it a week and I'll tell you if the sentiment is returned," Cyan said with a chuckle. Her children laughed too, and White suspected that it was an inside joke.

Children. How interesting...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited November 7, 2020  
> How 'bout that election 'do?


	2. White POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> White POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, babey! Part 2 is up!

White was faking a task in the reactor, taking notes on their tablet. They would never understand how the simple action of taking notes would lower suspicion, but they would take full advantage of it.

Yellow passed by the entrance, waving to White as she entered Security. She was the closest this particular Skeld-class ship had to a security officer. As such, White could already tell that she would spend a lot of time in security, watching the cams. 

They knew where the cams in Skeld-class ships were and would be able to use that to their advantage. Because of her position, Yellow would also be a helpful voice of reason, especially if they could manage to gain her trust. Except for the two confusing... complications that were Cyan’s children, this looked like it would turn out to be a relatively routine round. 

White heard running footsteps and looked up just in time to see Yellow sprinting back the way she had come, past the entrance to the reactor toward the upper engine. White was a little confused for a moment: they had categorized Yellow into the “jumpy” section sure, but it was too early for White to make their move and Purple wouldn’t be that careless.

The vent next to them rattled, and Red leapt out. 

Of course.

"What did you  _ do _ ?" White hissed.

Red looked sheepish, tapping his index fingertips together. "I forgot how far in the door was and locked myself in security..."

It was only the intensity of their self discipline (and a helmet) that prevented White from pinching the bridge of their nose in exasperation, an annoyingly human tick they had picked up. 

"Try to catch her," they told the other imposter. "With a blunder like that, this early in the journey, neither of us can vouch for you. Your only hope is to catch up with her before she calls an emergency meeting or else defend yourself during the meeting itself."

"You can't… help?" Red asked, sounding strangely subdued. 

Without even looking at their tablet, White sabotaged the doors to the cafeteria. "Not more than that. Now go. Catch her."

Red dashed off, his speed inhuman. Even with the unnatural speed that imposters possessed, Yellow's own significantly slower speed,  _ and  _ White’s sabotage,it was unlikely he'd catch up to her in time. 

If he had been more experienced, he would have known that it would have been wiser to vent to medbay and cut her off there before she reached the cafeteria. 

But Red wasn't experienced enough to know that. And he was too far away for White to say anything. Oh well.

As if on cue, the alarm for an emergency meeting was called. It seemed that even with White's assistance, Red had failed.

Readying themself for another act, White hurried to the cafeteria. Yellow still had her hand on the button, glaring across the table at Red who was acting much more subdued than his usual self.

"Yellow!" White put every ounce of worry into their voice as they could. "Oh my God, you're okay! I saw you run past but you didn't say anything!"

Yellow finally took her hand off the emergency meeting button and crossed her arms. "No thanks to him," she said with a gesture toward Red.

White looked at the other imposter in confusion. "Red? Why? What did he… No. No you can't mean...?" They trailed their voice off in feigned horror.

Yellow nodded. "Wait for the others and I'll explain everything."

They didn't have to wait long. Hesitation in attending an emergency meeting was suspicious enough to cast doubt on even the most secure of alibis. Everyone showed up around the same time, all panting from the exertion of sprinting to the cafeteria with 50 pounds of MIRA assigned equipment and life support on their backs. 

Except Cyan, who hardly sounded winded, even though she was carrying the additional weight of one of her children on her shoulders. How interesting. 

Yellow didn't waste any more time. "It's Red. Came out of the vents, tried to lock me in security with him. Ended up closing the door between us instead of behind me."

Purple glanced at White to check if either of then would give him an alibi. They didn't say anything, so she followed their lead.

"That's a stupid mistake," Blue commented. "Even for an imposter."

"It's my first time!" Red exclaimed, more out of annoyance than anger. "Sorry I apparently suck at killing you, or whatever. I'll be sure to try  _ real  _ hard next time."

Everyone around the table froze. 

"I didn't think it would be that easy," Yellow said under her breath. 

Even White was surprised. They had expected Red to fight for his life a little harder. 

"So you admit you're the imposter, then?" Orange asked warily. 

"Yep."

"And you're just gonna let us eject you?" Orange didn't sound convinced. "Just like that?"

"Just like that." Red sounded defeated. What was his game? Did he even have one? Or was he just trying to play with the crewmates' brains? 

Pink toyed nervously with his inflatable flamingo's hat. "Are there any more of you?"

White's pulse sped up. Red could easily snitch on them and Purple. 

"Nope. Just me. It sucks too, 'cause I really could have used some... advice."

Red mouth split open at the last word, revealing sharp teeth and a long tongue in the area of a human's stomach. The display prompted a fearful gasp from the crewmates.

Drool started to collect on the slimy appendage, dripping onto the table and bench in front of him. Black and Blue, the two crewmates on either side of him, backpedaled rapidly away from the sight.

Red's voice became deeper as he spoke. "A good thing too, you all smell delicious. Would have hated to share you. Especially those two little snacks over there."

Everyone shot a glance at Zula and Digo, who were watching the exchange with the sort of horrified interest only a child could possess. Cyan stiffened angrily, her hands clenching into fists. 

"That's enough!" White said abruptly, surprising even themself with their sharpness. Red retracted his tongue with a snap, his mouth closing and stomach smoothening into the material of his MIRA suit. Out of the corner of their eye, they saw Purple give them an odd look.

"They're right," Yellow said, thankfully drawing the attention away from White's uncharacteristic outburst. "He literally just proved he was an imposter--we have more than enough evidence to eject him." 

"I won't even fight you," Red said, as if he knew the answer to some joke that everyone was missing. "Good job on catching the imposter!"

Except for the uneasiness that followed the crew to the airlock, the actual process of ejecting Red went very smoothly. White kept expecting Red to try something daring and crazy, like attack the crew, but he calmly walked into the airlock and waited patiently for them to open it and kill him.

Blue was the one to do the deed, unsurprisingly. There was the faint hiss of the airlock door opening and closing and, just like that, Red was gone. 

"God, I hope I'm that calm when I'm about to die," Blue said, his voice tinged with admiration. Orange punched him in the arm, presumably to rebuke his blaise dismissal of death.

White wanted to return to the reactor, maybe say something to cement their “relationship” with Yellow, but Cyan stopped them before everyone dispersed, a gentle hand on their arm. 

"I saw what you did earlier, in the meeting. Thank you."

She must be referring to White's sharp reprimand of Red when he threatened her children.

Strange feelings rose in their chest, both as her touch and at her words. Cyan’s voice was deeper than the other female humans White had interacted with, but it sounded nice. Well… as nice as a human voice  _ could  _ sound.

"Of course," they replied. "Anytime."

She squeezed their arm a little tighter before returning to the cafeteria. White watched her for a moment, taking note of how fondly she greeted her children even though they had been apart only a few minutes. 

Even though Red was an imposter, and thus the children’s enemy, White was glad that they hadn't been present while he was spaced. There were some things that children shouldn't see.


	3. White POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> White POV

White returned to the hallway between security and the reactor, toolbox in hand.

“Yellow?” they called, pointedly remaining in view of the camera. “Is it alright if I come in?”

“What do you want?” she called warily.

“I have an idea to fix the vent.”

A hesitation before she answered, “... okay. Just stay on the other side of the room. There aren’t any more imposters, but you can't be too careful.”

White almost laughed at that. There were still two imposters, and two imposters who knew how to do their job  _ well _ . They made sure to make their voice as soothing as possible.

“You make a good point. Don’t worry, you have nothing to fear from me.”

“Thank you.”

White made their way over to the vent in the corner of the room, Yellow watching them from her chair in front of the cams. White used their impact to add additional screws around the vent, securing it closed. They had done this on previous ships too, so they had no worries that Purple would know what they had done and be able to work her own strategy around it.

White made a show of rattling the vent cover to show Yellow it would be much more difficult to open now.

“I'm sorry I didn’t say anything earlier…” Yellow said hesitantly, referring to when she had sprinted past the reactor. She was one of the jumpy ones, and suspicious, but she was also polite. “Red could have killed you on his way to stop me from calling an emergency. I’m... glad he didn’t, but I should be more observant than that.”

White sat back on their haunches, still next to the vent. “I understand. That happens when humans panic, we focus on one thing. No harm came from it, and we haven’t lost anybody, so I won’t hold it against you.” 

She laughed, equal parts nervous and relieved. “I appreciate what you did with the vent. Now I can watch cams without looking over my shoulder every two seconds.”

“Anytime,” White replied. It would be so easy to kill her now, chomp off the top half of her body in one bite. But later. White had time, and now they had Yellow’s confidence.

Another emergency meeting was called. 

White shrugged in response to Yellow’s questioning look, mirroring her confusion. They headed to the cafeteria for the second time that day.

“What’s this about?” Blue exclaimed angrily, coming up from admin. “I was in the middle of a download!”

Brown flinched. She must have been the one to call the meeting then. 

“It’s okay, Brown,” Cyan said reassuringly, a hand on each of her children. Digo and Zula had joined the adult crewmates at the central table for this meeting. “Tell us what you saw.”

Brown wrung her hands. “I’m sorry to do this again so soon, but I just got a message from MIRA HQ…”

She looked over at Cyan for encouragement, she patiently motioned for her to go on. Brown took a moment to gather her voice. She was quiet, shy, and White knew that she did not like being the center of attention. Whatever message MIRA had sent them, it was important enough for Brown to say something to the entire crew about it.

“It said… HQ said that… we have multiple imposters on board.”

“So there’s one left?” Blue asked. “Easy peasy.”

“No…” Brown drew out, nervous again. “There’s... two.”

It was interesting to see the reaction that that had on the crew. Most of them panicked, immediately whispering among themselves.

“Two?” Orange asked incredulously. “You mean there were  _ three  _ imposters before??” He turned to Cyan, who was next to him.

They had both chosen to sit next to each other in every meeting so far, close enough that they were practically touching. Something that White only now noticed. Were they together or...? Was Orange perhaps the father of Zula and Digo? White briefly considered ripping Orange to shreds right then and there.

What… what was that feeling? Similar to their earlier thoughts of killing Yellow, but also vastly different, it wasn't the normal kind of bloodlust that White was accustomed to feeling.

White pushed it down, wanting to pay attention to their conversation and gather more knowledge.

“Have they ever worked in trios before, Cy??” Orange continued.

Cyan put a hand to her chin (the chin equivalent of her helmet). “There was one mission I did, before I met either of you, that had three. But only the one.” 

She was talking to Orange, but who was this other she mentioned? Was it the individual she had been talking to in the shuttle?

“Did they win?” Pink asked.

Orange fixed him with a look of exasperation. Pink realized his mistake, ducking his head in embarrassment.

“Sorry, Cyan, that was a dumb question: you’re not an imposter.” Pink said it with such certainty, White couldn't help but wonder what had Cyan done to gain his trust. She was more than willing to help anyone with their tasks, and White had seen her go into medbay to submit a scan earlier in the trip. Both of those were good for convincing people that they were not imposters, but White had never seen the two of them together for very long. (She usually spent most of her time with Orange, White realized, a little bitterly) 

“How did you survive?” Pink asked, his voice turning a little starstruck.

“We had someone on cams and—”

Blue interrupted her. It was obvious she was annoyed at that, but that didn't stop him. “Who cares? Everyone just be careful and finish your tasks. The faster we get to Polus, the faster we can get to someone who can help.” 

“That just gives them more time to strike at us!” Purple exclaimed.

White hurriedly inserted themself into the conversation, trying to dissuade the argument, “Even though Purple is right, we can’t afford to panic.” Then, before they could stop themself, White added, “ I think Cyan was going to say something else?” 

She shot them a grateful look.

“The other imposters will not be as careless as Red was,” she began. And oh, was she correct. “Ask for someone you trust to come with you for tasks in dangerous areas, like electric, to watch your back. I can come vouch for someone if they need it.”

There was a grateful murmur from the table’s occupants. Cyan was not the commanding officer on board (on paper, that fell to Yellow) but she had survived many trips with imposters. Plus, she was the least threatening, especially because of the two mini crewmates who always trailed her. She oozed comfort and security, so it made sense, at least to White, why the crew would get attached to her.

“Thank you, Cyan,” Purple said. White didn’t like the implications they alone could hear in her voice. If Purple and Cyan were ever alone, White had no doubt that she would kill her, even in front of Zula and her brother. “Unless anyone else has something to add, I think we should return to our tasks then.”

There was a collective agreement, and everyone dispersed again. Instead of returning to the reactor, White headed off to medbay to “do inventory”. Before they left the cafeteria proper, they saw Black headed down through storage and veer right.

She was headed to electric.

Alone. 

Despite the warning that Cyan had just given not even a full minute prior.

Even though White preferred to move slowly, this provided too sweet of an opportunity for them to resist. Their schedule had been moved up with the communication for MIRA.

They waved at the camera outside of medbay. Its steadily blinking red light meant that Yellow was on cams already.

White entered medbay. No one had followed them from the cafeteria, but Brown was due for a scan soon, so they quickly sabotaged the lights and jumped into the vent, traveling to electric. 

Black was there, too focused on calibrating the distributor to fix the lights. In this circumstance, White was glad they were not a crewmate. Even though they had watched countless crew members do this task, they still did not understand it. Fortunately, as an imposter, they never had to do it, but they felt a stab of pity for Black that such a frustrating task had been assigned her.

Black made a sound of irritation as she had to restart the procedure, presumably not for the first time. White slowly extracted themself from the vent, not to give her a little extra time to complete her task but in order to better sneak up on her in silence.

They didn't know a lot about Black other than she was quiet, tended to keep to herself and did most of her tasks (as was the case now) alone. 

She had just finished the final calibration and closed the electric box when White made their move, stabbing her through with their tongue. Black didn’t make a sound as she died, just looked down at the tongue through her chest and then over at White before she went limp.

White waited for the rush of exhilaration they experienced with their kills. 

Nothing. 

Despite the worrying apathy they felt, they were still acutely aware of the time limit they were on and made quick work of their meal, hopping back into the vent.

They left the remainder of Black’s body where it had fallen, and, in an attempt to justify their actions, reasoned that honestly, it was Black's fault for not listening to Cyan’s advice anyways.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rip Black
> 
> Edited on October 29, 2020


	4. Cyan POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To avoid confusion, Zula calls Cyan “dad” because Cyan transitioned after Zula was used to calling her that. Digo is a few years younger and so doesn't remember much from before Cyan transitioned and so calls her “Mamá”.  
> Just a friendly reminder, but trans people don't have to fit into the box of binary gender and what a trans person and their kids decide to call each other (or even cis people) is their own business :)

Cyan headed to electrical to fix the lights (again), Zula on her shoulders. In the dark, she would prefer that Digo held her hand, better to keep track of him when neither of them could see. But Digo always thought it was exciting when the lights went out, and he had run ahead into electric. She heard him slip on something and crash to the ground.

Cyan winced at the sound. "Are you hurt, Digo?”

“No, Mamá,” came her son’s voice from the dark. He wasn't crying, so he would be okay. Hopefully his suit was as resilient as he was.

“Stay down, son, until I can get the lights working again."

"Okay, Mamá!" Digo said brightly. Definitely not injured then.

Cyan opened the breaker box to fix the lights, making sure her little helmet light was pointed so Zula could see what she was doing. "Can you see, Zula? Which breakers do we need to flip?”

“Yeah. First, third, fourth, and…” There was a pause as she counted the breakers to herself. “And fifth!” 

“Excellent job, darling.” Cyan followed her daughter’s instructions, and the lights flickered back on. “There we go."

"Um. Mamá?" Digo sounded worried.

"Yes, son?" Cyan turned and saw her son sitting in a pool of blood. Alarmed, for a moment, she thought he actually had been injured. A second glance revealed that he was not the source of the blood, rather the lump of flesh behind him.

She almost thought she was seeing Red again. But... Red had been found out to be an imposter and had already gotten spaced. She had _seen_ it. It took another closer look for her to recognize the remains as what was left of Black, and the initial confusion had been from the amount of gore covering the remaining scraps of Black’s suit.

On her shoulders, Cyan felt Zula stiffen. She whispered, “Dad, what do we do?”

"Don't panic,” Cyan said calmly, though her own heart was hammering. There had been imposters on their last ships too, but she had managed to avoid coming across any of the bodies with her children in tow. It would appear that they were not going to be as lucky this time.

She let Zula down from her shoulders and helped Digo to his feet, lowering her voice so only they could hear, handing Zula her communicator. 

“Zula, I’m checking to see if anyone else is here and then we're heading back to the cafeteria. If anything happens to me, I want you to take your brother and run. Hit the panic button in the cafeteria and then stick with Orange until you land in Polus and meet up with Green. Do you understand?"

Zula nodded solemnly, the action somewhat muted by her suit. 

“Good girl,” Cyan said, putting a gloved hand on her daughter’s helmet. She pointed at the entrance to electric, wanting to make sure that if the imposter sabotaged the door, they would not be trapped inside with it and their mother. Obediently, they left the room and stood in the hallway.

Cyan carefully sidestepped Black’s body and peered around the corner at the back of electrical, heart in her mouth at who (or  _ what _ ) she might see. But there was no one there, only a bloody trail leading to the vent where the imposter had likely come from. 

What had they taken the rest of the body for? To eat? Red's words had stuck with her, which was probably his intention when he said them.

Whatever the motive behind the murder, this imposter sure hadn't tried to hide its handiwork. One thing, however, was for certain: the imposter was no longer here.

Letting go of a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, Cyan returned to the door where her children were waiting for her.

Zula was wringing her hands anxiously until Cyan stepped into her field of vision, flashing her daughter a thumbs up.

“See? I’m okay, Zula. Call the alarm.”

Zula made sure to enunciate clearly over the PA, "There is a body in electrical."

“Do we have to head to the cafeteria?” Digo asked. “Everyone’s just going to shout at each other again.” 

Cyan took his hand consolingly. “I know you don't like it when people are shouting, but it would make us look suspicious if we didn't show up.”

“But we called the alarm!” he protested.

Sighing, Cyan crouched down so Digo could clamber up onto on her shoulders. “That’s not enough for some people.”

Zula took her dad’s hand without complaint. “I just wish they weren’t trying to scare us so much. What did we do to them? What do the imposters want from us?”

Cyan let a little bit of her weariness bleed out as she answered, “I wish I knew, Zula. I wish I knew." 

Together, the family headed through storage to the cafeteria, where they could already hear the murmurings of the crewmates (and possibly imposters) already there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, look at that! A double update!!


	5. White POV

White vented out of electric, leaving the remainder of Black’s body cooling where they had let it fall. While in the vents, they quickly wiped off the splatters of blood on their suit. The one good thing about MIRA’s suits was that they were designed specifically so that liquid wouldn’t stick to the material, mimicking it was easy. 

It was easy to clean off any evidence of their deeds on their way back to medbay, making sure the room was empty before they exited the vent. They knew it would be, but better to be cautious, and they made it to the sample station just before Brown entered. 

Just as they had planned.

She didn’t even hesitate coming in. This was her first flight, and she didn’t know to be suspicious of everyone, despite the news she had just broken.

“Hi, White!” she greeted, cheery. “Whatcha doin’?”

“Just finished checking the samples,” White responded breezily, “completing” the samples by moving them to their proper place on the table nearby. “Are you going to scan?”

“Yeah!”

“Would you like me to confirm you?”

Brown cocked her head. “I mean, sure! But why?”

“Well…” White looked around, as if making sure no one else was in ear shot. No one was around, but they still lowered their voice, to infer some kind of camaraderie. “ _Imposters_ can’t scan. If someone can confirm you scanned, then that will make sure that you always have someone who can confirm that you’re human too.”

“Ohhhhhhhhhhh,” Brown said, gratingly loud. “White, you’re so smart! Yeah, watch me scan!”

She stepped onto the scanner, visibly vibrating with excitement. The scan was quick, the green light flashing over her body, and then displaying the results: BROP7. 92lbs. A+. 

Human.

White hid an imperceptible shudder at the ease with which she subjected herself to an electromagnetic scan, but they knew she would respond well to humor, so once she was finished they offered their hand for a high-five and said, “Nice job, fellow human!” 

Brown smacked their hand, giggling. “Thank _you_ , fellow human!” 

That was when the alarm was sounded and a young sounding female voice announced, “There is a body in electrical.”

Brown flinched. White was quick to reassure her. Sometimes panic was useful, other times it wasn’t. Right now, it wouldn’t be useful.

“It’s okay! We know that it couldn’t have been the two of us.”

She fidgeted with hands that were now shaking. “You’re right. What do we do now?”

“We meet the others in the cafeteria and discuss what we know. Don’t worry, I’ll vouch for you.”

She visibly sagged in relief. “Thanks, White. I’ll do the same. I’m glad I’ve got you during this.”

Under her helmet, White would bet that she was beaming. Perfect. They had an alibi for this round and the trust of another crewmate. They led the way to the cafeteria where the crew was gathering. Blue, Yellow, and Pink were already there. Cyan and her children entered from storage.

They must have been the ones to report Black’s body, which meant that the person who announced it was most likely her daughter. 

Confusing, painful feelings roiled around in White's chest at the thought of the children bearing witness to what they had done to Black. They didn't regret it (they didn't _not_ regret it), but Cyan's kids were exactly that: _kids_! The two of them weren't involved in this war, and it wasn't fair to force them to see the results of it. 

If they could, White would prevent them from having to witness it any further. They weren't exactly… sure where this new philosophy was coming from.

Cyan crouched down to let one of her children—White thought it was Digo—off of her shoulders and had both he and his sister sit at a side table as a way of keeping them separate from the crew and the absolute shitstorm the meeting was likely going to turn into. This was the first actual murder on board, and White expected the meeting to quickly devolve into finger pointing and random sussing. 

Purple entered from the front of the ship, Orange visible in the hallway behind her.

"What's this about a body?" she asked, even before she got to the table.

"We found Black's body in electrical," Cyan said solemnly, still making sure that her children were set up at the side table before joining the rest of the crew at the large, central table. 

"Wait, she was… dead? Like actually dead?" Brown asked incredulously. She shifted minutely closer to White. White forced themself to stay still, but they caught Purple's eye across the table and subtly inclined their head toward Brown. Purple nodded once, slowly, in understanding. White would set her up for a kill and provide an alibi for them both.

Orange sighed. "That's usually implied by 'body'. Yes. A dead one."

Brown fidgeted more; White thought she might be on the verge of tears.

They let out a breath. "Brown and I were in medbay together. Did anyone see anything suspicious?"

"Blue was staring at me in security…" Yellow brought up. 

Blue's defense was fast and irate. "What? Fuck off, I just wanted to see if you were still alive, cunt!"

Cyan slammed her hand on the table, surprising everyone present as she jabbed a finger at Blue angrily. "I understand that tensions are high right now, but if you use language like that in front of my children again, I will throw you out the airlock myself."

It was funny how, any time they were mentioned at the table, everyone shot a look back at Zula and Digo. This time was no different, and they were greeted by the sight of the children playing a hand game, seemingly not even paying attention to the meeting. 

Good. White was surprised at Cyan’s outburst, but pleasantly so. It was obvious that she cared about her children. 

Maybe that was why they felt so drawn to her. Before the war, before they had been _invaded_ , White had been looking forward to being a parent. Those dreams had been put on hold indefinitely. Either White would become a victim of the war and wouldn't have to worry about it any longer, or they’d have to wait until the conclusion of the hostilities, which they couldn't see happening anytime soon. The humans were proving obstinate in their refusal to answer diplomacy.

Which was why White was here. If they killed enough humans, eventually, they'd have to stop, right? Despite the excitement they felt in the moment, they were getting tired of it. 

“What are we doing?” Purple asked, bringing White out of their thoughts. “Are we voting?”

“I’m skipping,” Brown said immediately.

Everyone voted quickly to skip. Except for Yellow, who hesitated, debating between skipping and voting for Blue. Eventually, there wasn't enough evidence and she skipped as well. 

Eight votes to skip. A unanimous decision.

Which meant that it was a flawless execution on White’s part. They had gotten away with it perfectly. 

Strangely, they felt no pride at the fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, a steady and stable single parent who loves her kids and prompts a crisis of faith/philosophy. Honestly, how could White _not_ fall for her.


	6. White POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone always asks who is the imposter  
> Nobody asks _how_ is the imposter

White raised their hand in a wave at the camera at the entrance of admin before entering. They wanted to maintain their camaraderie with Yellow for as long as it was useful. Once they actually entered Admin, they ground to a halt when they saw who else was in the room.

“Oh hey, White,” Cyan greeted them casually, completely unaware of their surprise. She and her kids were on the opposite side of the admin table, next to the card scanner. Cyan was currently looking through her wallet, presumably for her ID card. 

“Downloading?” she asked without looking up.

“... yes,” they lied, turning away from the trio hurriedly, face feeling hot. Facing the upload station, they started tapping at their tablet to “start” the upload.

“We’re swiping in, hopefully this scanner is more reliable than previous ones.” Cyan continued in a very conversational tone, her words reminding White that she was technically the most experienced crewmate on board. They wondered if any of the other imposters had wanted to connect with her like they did. 

Probably not. White shouldn't get their hopes up.

They snuck another glance at Cyan and her children just as she handed the card to Digo. 

“Alright, Digo, you know what to do?”

“Yeah, Mama, I got this! Watch me get it on the first try!” He sounded so sure of himself, and swiped the card with confidence.

It beeped at him.

“‘Too fast’?” Digo read aloud, he looked questioningly up at his mom.

Cyan leaned over to help him and, unable to stop themself, White left the upload station to watch.

“Try again, son, a little slower,” she encouraged.

Digo put the card in and purposefully slowed the swipe.

It beeped again. Too slow. 

Cyan and Digo focused their attention on the scanner, and Zula peered at White from around them.

“You’re done uploading already?” she asked in a small voice. From what White knew about human tones, she didn't sound suspicious, only curious.

Um. White had to think fast. Children were often good at recognizing lies, regardless of species, so White had to tread carefully.

“I just came down from weapons,” they answered, not a lie. “Orange was firing at asteroids, it clears up the debris for a little while to get a clearer signal out to HQ.” Also not a lie. Plus, the addition of referring to someone she knew (even if it turned their stomach to think about him) would add additional credibility.

She nodded, more emphatic than would be normal, an attempt to make up for the fact that she was still in her suit and thus most of her body language was muted. It would be touching, if White cared about that.

“Okay,” Zula continued. “Glad you got to finish it, though. Dad had trouble with it yesterday before the lights went out and…”

She seemed to wilt a little bit and drew closer to Cyan, fingers searching for purchase in the material of her dad’s suit.

White softened their own body posture. “Yeah. Black.” 

“It’s not the first time. You’d think we’d get used to it,” she mumbled.

White’s hearts went out to her. “It’s not something you should have to see at all, let alone get used to. I’m so sorry you had to see that.” 

She shrugged, leaning more into Cyan. White could tell that she was done speaking. 

Cyan rested a hand on Zula’s helmet, looking down and caressing her daughter fondly. Zula turned into the gesture, wrapping her arms around her dad’s waist. White’s breath caught in their throat at the casual but powerful display of affection. 

This was a mother comforting a fearful child, and a child who trusted that her parent both loved her and would be able to protect her.

The tender moment was broken as Digo swiped again and the scanner beeped at him, though the image of Cyan and her daughter remained burned into White’s memory.

“Too fast?!”

Digo was becoming discouraged, and the intensity of his swipes grew.

Too fast.

Too slow.

Too slow.

Bad read.

“What does that _meeeeeean_?” he asked, sounding on the verge of tears.

“It’s okay. Follow through. Nice and slow this time,” Cyan calmly encouraged, the hand not wrapped around Zula coming to rest on his shoulder.

He swiped. Too slow. Digo knocked his helmet against the admin table a few times out of frustration.

“Swipe it back and forth really fast a few times,” White suggested.

Digo raised his helmet from the table and looked up at them. “That’s _worked_ for you?”

“I’ve seen it work,” they said, not elaborating. White had never had to swipe, so while they didn’t lie, it was a tip they had picked up from a previous mission’s crewmate… right before White killed them. But Digo didn’t need to know that.

Digo looked over at Cyan, for permission or encouragement. She nodded.

“Oooookay,” Digo started, sounding dubious. He inserted the card but didn’t swipe yet.

“I just… back and forth?”

“Mhm,” White confirmed.

He swiped it forwards and backwards a handful of times and finished, holding the card as if preparing to swipe it again.

The scanner dinged and the light turned green. Digo stared at it in disbelief. 

“Huh,” Cyan said. “Would you look at that. It actually worked.” 

“It worked?” Digo asked wondrously. Then he got excited. “It worked! Mama, did you see? Did you see me?? DId you see what I did?”

He did a little dance of excitement, hopping around his mother and sister in a feat that was astonishing considering the sheer weight of gear he was wearing.

Cyan joined in the celebration, scooping Digo up in her arms and spinning him around. 

“You did it!” she praised, letting him down once she gave him one final, tight hug. “I’m so proud of you! What do you say to White?”

“Oh no, you don’t have to—” White began, but was cut off as Digo threw his arms around their middle. 

The human child looked up at him, and White couldn’t see through the visor, but even then his grin was blinding in its imagined intensity. 

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Digo said, squeezing them again before letting go.

White was still frozen. Throughout all of their ships, all of their missions, there had never been a crewmate who had touched them like this. It was a form of affection, White knew _that_ at least, but they had never before been in a position to receive it. 

“Um… you’re welcome…?” 

Their face was hot again, and they turned away from the family, looking down at the admin table to distract them from the perplexing thoughts and feelings they were experiencing again.

Idly, they noticed two people in the lower engine, one of them quickly cycled from the reactor to lower engine. Even without colors, they could tell that it was most likely Purple, venting to check if the coast was clear, and Brown.

White suddenly realized that Cyan had been trying to get their attention.

“Sorry, what?”

They were losing their touch. One affectionate touch and White was no longer concentrating on their task at hand. They needed to get a hold of themselves.

“We’re headed to Nav, next,” Cyan repeated. “Did you want to come with us?”

Navigation was at the front of the ship, on the complete opposite side as the engines where Purple and Brown were. That was the best place for Zula and Digo to be at the time, as far away from her as they could be. 

“Okay.”


	7. White POV

“How have your tasks been going?” Cyan asked them. Their little group of four was headed towards Navigation, Digo in front of them. The child was running ahead of them, arms outstretched. White thought they could hear him making sounds akin to a human starship as he ran.

“Good,” White answered, used to deflecting questions about their “tasks”. 

“I haven’t seen you around much,” Cyan continued, still casual in her tone. Her words made White nervous until she finished with, “Are you doing okay?”

White couldn’t answer with a ‘yes’. As a “crewmate”, being okay while the other crew was getting killed around them would be incredibly suspicious. However, White couldn’t afford to be truthful with her either. In truth, they were not “doing okay” and Cyan was part of the reason behind that. They couldn’t tell her that. 

“I’m tired,” they offered instead. And, while it wasn’t a lie, it wasn't a full truth either. 

Cyan hummed her agreement. “And how are you doing, Zula?”

Unlike her brother, Zula had elected to stay back with her dad and White. 

After a few moments of thoughtful silence, Zula answered quietly, “I don’t like when the lights go out.”

“Me too,” her dad answered. “But I know that I have you around to protect me and that makes me feel a little better.” She squeezed Zula’s hand. 

Would that help? To White, it sounded like adding undue responsibility to a child’s shoulders. Thinking back to the scene in admin, where Cyan was comforting Zula, maybe it was a human thing intended to make the child feel mature? White knew that Cyan would leap in and probably fight in order to protect her kids (selfishly, White hoped there would never be an opportunity that arose that would warrant that), and she didn’t appear afraid of the dark herself. Was she lying?

“Thanks, dad,” Zula responded. Her voice was still quiet, but it sounded… reassured? Did she believe Cyan’s lie or did she know that it was a lie and was comforted by it regardless?

“Digo, don’t get too far ahead!” Cyan called to her son. Either he didn’t hear her or was ignoring her (White suspected the former: Digo and Zula seemed oddly obedient). Cyan sighed, and then she and Zula started jogging to catch up with him, White following suit after a moment. 

They hesitated at a sudden feeling of dread, falling a step behind Cyan and Zula and looking behind them. The hallway to storage was empty, and didn’t have their own tablet out, so they weren’t planning to sabotage anything. Purple on the other hand… 

A moment later, White’s gut feeling came to fruition as the lights went out. Their first thought immediately went to Zula, who had, moments earlier, stated she was afraid of the dark. 

She and Cyan had been running; when the lights went out, Zula had frozen, letting out a strangled cry that she stifled almost before it began. Carried by her momentum, she tripped and remained hunched over on the ground. 

Cyan, to her credit, had stopped once she felt her daughter’s hand leave hers but was unable to see where she had fallen. She started groping desperately around in the dark.

“Zula? Zula, where are you?”

Frozen by fear, Zula didn’t answer. White, the only one able to see in the dark, could see that she was trembling.

“Mama!” Digo cried fearfully from further down the hall. 

Still blind, Cyan looked toward where his voice had come from. She returned to searching for her daughter with additional desperation. Her voice was forcibly calm but White could, for the first time, detect an underlying fear. 

“Zula, we have to go find Digo,” she said, arms outstretched as she passed by and missed the curled up form of her daughter again.

“Mama!” Digo cried again, voice sounding tearful. The sound of his voice echoed eerily off the walls of the hallway.

Cyan was torn between her kids.

“I’ll stay with Zula,” White found themself saying. Cyan jumped at their voice. Apparently, in her panic to find her children, she had forgotten that they were there. “You go get Digo.”

Cyan thought it over for a few seconds, then flinched again when Digo called for her once more, now obviously in tears. She finally looked in White’s general direction and nodded shakily, heading toward the sound of her son’s voice.

White looked down at Zula. She was already small in White’s eyes, but the obvious terror she was experiencing made her seem smaller.

“Zula,” White said, making their voice comforting and crouching down so they would be at her level. “I’m right behind you. I’m going to reach out to you now.”

They narrated what they were going to do before they did it. It was a tactic they had used on other crewmates--though with obviously different motives.

White wasn’t sure exactly what they had been expecting when they made contact with the human child, but they were completely taken aback when she nearly leapt into their arms, wrapping her arms around them and knocking White on their rear.

“Mom, I’m scared,” she whispered.

Oh, she thought they were Cyan.

“It’s me, White,” they said. “Your dad will be right back. She went to get Digo and she should be here any moment.”

They moved to stand upright and Zula’s grip on them tightened.

“Don’t leave!” she cried.

“I’m right here,” they replied, still soothing. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Why had they said that? White was on this ship for a purpose, and every second they spent with Cyan and her children was detracting from that purpose.

Humans were the enemy. _They_ were the enemy! White knew that firsthand, and yet…

And yet...

Zula was just a child. She shouldn't have to be a victim of a war that wasn’t her fault, wasn’t her choice.

Humans may have committed atrocities in this war, but White would not. They would not let anything happen to Zula or Digo. That included keeping Cyan safe. 

That begged the question. How was Purple going to react to this? How would they even tell her?

Maybe... maybe they wouldn’t. Maybe they could hold out long enough that they could arrive at Polus and be reassigned to another ship and start a new round that would end as all the others had.

…

Who were they kidding? Regardless of how this round ended, it would be a disaster. But it would be a disaster that White would see Zula and Digo through.

In the corner of their field of vision, they saw Cyan and Digo round the corner of the hallway through shields. She was carrying him in front of her instead of on her back like she normally did. White suspected it was because it allowed her to feel more secure with the additional contact. There was a noticeable lack of crying from the child, though he clung to Cyan.

Even though they knew Cyan and Digo would be safe--they were with Zula and Purple was on the other end of the ship--but the relief they felt at the sight of them was alarming.

“Your dad’s on her way right now,” they said to Zula, who was in a similar state as her brother, no longer in tears but still afraid, still clinging. “She and your brother are safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imposters: canonly a cold-blooded killing machine with a single purpose and drive  
> Meanwhile, White: haha kids go brrr
> 
> EDIT: February 16, 2021  
> Thanks, all, for your patience. The trouble is that I have the next NEXT chapter and beyond written but not the one that immediately proceeds after this one :/


	8. White POV

“White?” Cyan called as she neared where she had left them.

“Right here,” they answered. “I have Zula.”

She sighed in relief, looking tired. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here.”

White got to their feet, careful not to let Zula fall. They were glad they weren’t technically wearing one of the MIRA suits—that would have made it much more difficult to stand.

“Would you like to get down?” they asked Zula softly. She responded by tightening her arms around their neck. So that was a no, then. White shifted their arms to carry her more securely.

“To electrical, then?” Cyan asked. “We can stay close and be safer together.”

“The imposters wouldn’t try anything with two of us,” White added automatically, somewhat guilty. They pointedly didn’t mention the very real possibility of double kills. But with White around, Purple would likely leave them alone, assuming that they would kill off the otherwise solitary crewmate.

 _Nothing_ would happen to Cyan, however. 

“White?” 

White snapped their head up to look at her. “Yes?”

“Can I... can I hold your hand? I don’t want us to get separated again on our way there.”

White was in motion before they realized it, impulsively grabbing hold of Cyan’s hand. After a beat, they realized the lights were still off and they hadn’t pretended they were blind…

White waited for Cyan to say something about it, to call out their mistake, but the crewmate was silent. Hopefully, she hadn’t noticed.

She squeezed their hand and White felt that weird flutter in their chest again. 

“Let’s go.”

With one hand in the Cyan’s, and the other carrying a child (Cyan mirroring them), they headed down the dark corridor, through storage, to electric.

“Alright, Digo, hold on,” Cyan said to her son, dropping White’s hand so she would have a free hand to reset the breakers without having to put down Digo.

The child looked nervously over his mother’s shoulder, deeper into electrical, where—White suddenly realized—he had found Black’s body. 

The lights flickered back on and Cyan let out an enormous sigh of relief. “That’s that, then.” 

From White’s arm, Zula lifted her head and unlinked her arms. White read that as her desire to get down, so they gently placed her on her feet. Even though she kept a firm grip on their hand, White found that they… missed the contact. Holding Zula had meant that nothing could reach her without White’s permission. Maybe that was why Cyan would more often than not carry at least one child.

“Back to navigation?” White asked. They pointedly did not look toward the lower engine and tried to, as subtly as possible, make sure that their own body blocked the view into the engine room.

“Agreed. Ready to go, Digo?”

More confident now that the lights had been turned on again, Digo was quickly returning to his excitable self.

“Okay, Mama. Can I help with wires again?”

“Only if you can manage to actually connect the right ones this time,” Cyan laughed, once again at ease. 

It was interesting to see how quickly humans’ moods changed. What had been frozen, terrified, and mute in the dark was now bold and courageous, _laughing_ , in the light. When taking into account the humans’ reliance on sight, White imagined it made sense: if they could _see_ the danger, then it wasn’t as scary. The more they learned about humans, the more wondrous they became to White. There was a difference from the humans who had invaded their home and the humans before them now.

What had kept them from seeing this difference before? What if the other humans, from countless ships previous, had been similar to Cyan? To Digo? To Zula? 

White heard something crash behind them and turned to look, their thoughts interrupted. Digo had tripped, and Zula had turned back to help him to his feet. The humans’ MIRA suits made it difficult for them to stand on their own.

White experienced another pang of softness, less uncomfortable with it now that they knew what it was and who it was for.

There was a loud hiss that made all four of them freeze. White recognized it as the sound a door would make in the half-second after they sabotaged it. (Purple again, doing her job, and doing it well.) The three cyan crewmates, all seasoned and experienced in various imposters’ actions, could recognize the sound too. 

Cyan, knowing what would happen the next moment, reached desperately toward her kids.

Without even thinking about it, White grabbed the back of her suit and yanked her backward, preventing her arm from getting crushed between the hermetically sealed doors.

Their last sight of the children was of Zula reaching out to them, and then the doors closed, cutting them off from each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, these poor kids. They've got at least three more chapters of angst before All Will Be Well, if ya know what I mean ;)


End file.
